Friday, May 25, 2012

When I was in school (high school and college specifically) I always hated writing. Essays were the bain of my existence! I can remember agonzing over a paper and trying to organize my thoughts into an introductory paragraph, a few supporting detail paragraphs and a conclusion. I would often be so fed up by the time that I got to the conlcusion that I would simply restate the intro paragraph with a few words shuffled around. How clever of me. And the "grabber" was what really got to me - trying to figure out a witty way to draw the reader into my boring, but organized essay. To say they were cheesey is an understatement. I wish I had a little collection of them in a coffee table book for good laughs.

Despite my struggles with academic writing, I have found it to be incredibly therapeutic in my life outside of school. I try to start and end most of my days with a bit of it, even if just a few sentences. Writing in journals has helped me to process some of the more challenging moments of my life and always helps to organize thoughts no matter how profound or mundane (hello list-making). And while I revel in my morning ritual of stream of conciousness writing I also enjoy a good prompt, as long as it's not academic in nature! As a lover of all of the above, I was enamored with the selection of journals at a recent trip to Bookshop Santa Cruz. I would love to have a little collection from which I could pull out whichever one I felt like writing in.

For example:

The 5 Year Diary - where you can write a few sentences about your day and see your entries for the same day of prior years.

Gratitude A Journal - The power of gratitude is immense and this journal is chock full of prompts to recognize all that you are grateful for.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

I love this post on Apartment Therapy suggesting a valet stand as a useful organization tool. They advise using it to keep clothes from sitting on a chair after they have been worn - a great idea and something that is much needed in our household. If I had one, I would also love to use it to put together outfits for the next day.

Growing up, I always had a hard time deciding what to wear, so I would pick out an outfit the night before to prevent tardiness. I have since got out of the habit, but perhaps a valet stand could help me get back into it. There's something exciting about seeing your outfit all laid out for you, accessories and all. I think it might even make old clothes feel new and special to see them on display, awaiting you to put them on!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

When I stumbled upon this quote last week, a particular artist came to mind. She is a dear friend I met when I was living in Capitola and she and her husband serendipitously moved in next door. Everything she does is art. Her mission is to stay inspired and this seeps out of so many facets of her life, including her whimsical sea watercolors.

"Sometimes I like to fathom a tiny mermaid who swims in my tea...I like to picture her swimming in the liquid brew as she imbibes the tea with added magic and I imagine her silking through the warmth, surfacing with an errant tea leaf resting on her shoulder."

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Sunset Magazine recently came out with their camping issue, and the way that Dietrich's been talking about our impending camping trip, it couldn't have come at a better time. They have some lovely suggestions for venues, camping accessories, recipes and alternatives to tents that still allow for the one-with-nature experience. I think any of these (or a combination thereof) would make for a great re-introduction to the camping way of life. Here are a few of my favorites:

The teardrop trailer can be rented our purchased and includes the bed and all cooking gear. Dietrich has been saying that he wants to tow something....